1. Acupuncture:

Who would have thought that needles = bliss? Hold the heroin jokes, we're talking acupuncture.

While I can't tell you who decided to track the energy channels in the body or how they figured it out, I can tell you it works amazingly well.

After a consultation to assess what's hurting and general imbalances in your body based on your pulse, color of your tongue, and your verbal complaints, the acupuncturist places very thin needles along the energy channels in the areas associated with that ailment.

Once placed, you lay back in your chair or massage table and chill / sleep for the next 30-60min. It takes 24 min to reset the nervous system so plan on reaping the extra benefit by getting a good meditative rest in while the energy blocks are being removed.

2. Chiropractic Body work

Our hips get out of alignment, our neck gets tight, our hamstrings lock up and pull on our low back. Life's rigors, can leave us tight and in pain. Chiropractors help keep our body supple with access to full healthy motion. They get us realigned and ready to start fresh in a happy, unstuck skeletal system.

Finding a good chiropractor to get your body back on track is one of those lifes kills super savvy adults have mastered. While I'm not in love with the idea of my favorite practicioners being booked, I do feel obligated to share my 2 favorites in SF.

At a chiropractic session, you can expect to be checked for misalignments, have your muscles loosen with massage, electrical stimulation, or heat pads, and then adjusted after being placed in various positions to gently move your bones back into position. The chiropractor will give you suggestions to strengthen the surrounding muscles to make the temporary fix more permanent.

These skeletal adjustment stop the overcompensation, irritation, and misalignments putting the hiccup in our giddyup. I can't recommend these tuneups more and feel best when I go 2-4x/month and do my strength training so I don't slip back in to misalignment.

3. Massage

Two massages a month is considered preventative medicine for our overworked bodies. During the holidays, aim for at least 1 professional massages per month and 4+ ten minute roll out sessions per week.

I carry my $5 myofascial release balls (shown >) everywhere I go and leave a set in my car. They go slightly deeper than my beloved roller and are perfect for travel.

They release my glutes and hamstrings on long flights and car trips and allow for spinal, shoulder, and neck release against a wall or on the floor. The best bodywork store ACOLOGY in Santa Monica sells them in a variety of sizes along with every other massage tool you can imagine. Lacrosse balls are a harder version and tennis balls do fine in a pinch.

ninja trick: tape them together with rock tape or kt tape for the the perfect spine release.

Massage not only breaks up tight stuck muscles that may be hindering proper alignment and kinetic function, it also summons healing oxygenated blood flow to the area. My favorite side effect is the natural pain relief / immediate opiate release. Touch is a magical thing and we deserve to feel good.

Local inexpensive subscription massage places like Massage Envy keep you accountable to getting monthly massages by charging you for the first one every month. We can roll unused massages over to the next month if we don't use them. SF & LA have some pretty fantastic in-home options as well if you prefer. MassageNow.co is a new service that lets you book discounted massages at luxury spas. Code RELAXNOW gets you 20% off the first one - though I haven't tried their service yet.

Let's look at our last 2 weeks of 2014, and book one Acupuncture, Chiropractic, or Massage Session- before our insurance resets to that pesky deductible.